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Pat Bell, the senior cabinet minister in charge of Premier Christy Clark’s all-important B.C. Jobs Plan, announced Sunday he is quitting politics because of health problems.

Bell, the jobs, tourism and skills training minister, had already been nominated to run again for the Liberals in his Prince George riding.

He said Sunday that his doctor spotted a rare type of aneurysm last fall during medical tests for possible pneumonia. A cardiac specialist is monitoring the size of the aneurysm, which is an abnormal ballooning of an artery due to a weakening of the vessel wall. Bell said he may need surgery.

“All of this has caused me to re-think my decision to seek another term as the MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie,” said Bell in a written statement.

“This is a critical and compelling time for our province and it’s equally critical that our team members are able to focus 100 per cent of their attention on the task at hand,” he said. “With this diagnosis, I need to turn my mind to my personal health and this would take my attention away from my responsibilities as your MLA.”

Political scientist Norman Ruff said Bell’s impending departure, announced just three months before the election, represents a significant loss to the party, particularly given the emphasis on the B.C. Jobs Plan by the current administration.

“Along with the premier, Bell has been the face of the jobs program,” said Ruff, professor emeritus at the University of Victoria. “He has emerged in recent years as one of the stronger ministers, and one of the prominent public faces of the B.C. Liberal administration.”

Besides the loss of a cabinet minister, Bell’s departure could put his riding, traditionally considered a swing riding, at risk for the Liberals.

Bell has served for 12 years in provincial politics, including handing the forests, agriculture and mining portfolios. He said he will continue with his current responsibilities until the elections.

Bell is the latest in an avalanche of B.C. Liberal members who have stated they will not seek re-election in the May vote. The list includes Kevin Falcon, George Abbott, Colin Hansen, Blair Lekstrom, Mary McNeil, John Les, Bill Barisoff, Harry Bloy, Kash Heed and Kevin Krueger.

Liberal MLAs Barry Penner and Iain Black resigned last year, and were replaced by NDP MLAs in byelections.

Alongside Kevin Falcon and George Abbott, Bell’s decision to leave the party in May is “the most significant body blow to the Christy Clark administration,” said Ruff.

In a statement, Clark praised Bell’s commitment and service to British Columbians: “For 12 years, Pat Bell has worked hard to create a better, more prosperous British Columbia and now it’s time for him to take care of himself and his family.”

She cited his open door policy “to quietly help those in need” and being a “strong voice” for his community.

Clark said Sunday that Bell epitomizes what an MLA can accomplish, “Politics can be a tough job and Pat always did politics different, graciously and respecting everyone,” she said in a release.

“As he moves on to the next chapter of his life and focuses on his health, Pat will continue to set an example and can know he has a lasting legacy of making a difference.”

Bell said has many people to thank from his years in politics, but in particular extends his appreciation to both his wife and colleague Shirley Bond, B.C.’s justice minister and attorney general.

He said his wife Brenda, to whom he’s been married for almost 35 years, is the person who “made any success that I have had possible.

“Encouraging me, making sure that I never lost sight of our core principles and values and being the anchor of our home life.”

He added that Bond, who is an MLA for neighbouring Prince George-Mount Robson, should be recognized for establishing an “open working relationship with all our constituents, friends and foe unlike anything I have seen.

“We took the negativity out of politics in Prince George and our community is better for that.”

Bell said he expects others to step forward in the coming days to take on the task of filling the Liberal nomination.

“This is not the way I had planned to exit politics but my time has come,” he said.

Bell, who spearheaded the premier’s jobs plan efforts, was also deeply involved in her strategy to court Asian markets.

The minister has travelled to Asia several times to drum up business for B.C.’s struggling forest industry.

He also sought new markets for B.C. mills suffering after the U.S. housing downturn.

But Bell had most recently been taking heat over the ongoing legal battles between unions and a mining company over importing Chinese workers on temporary permits to work in a northern coal mine.

Prince George lawyer Bobby Deepak is the NDP candidate for the Prince George-Mackenzie riding.

Meanwhile, Pemberton Mayor Jordan Sturdy has won the nomination to represent the provincial Liberals in the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky riding.

For several months, Sturdy ran unopposed, but former B.C. Dairy Association CEO Robin Smith announced his candidacy in late January.

The vote, which was being done by travelling ballet box, concluded in Squamish on Saturday.

“I want to work with Premier Christy Clark to ensure that we maintain a strong, vibrant economy,” Sturdy said in a statement.

Besides being mayor, Sturdy with his wife run an agri-tourism business.

Joan McIntyre, the two-term Liberal MLA for the riding, is not running in the May election.

With files from The Vancouver Sun and The Canadian Press

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